[Back In The Saddle]

Short answer: It's part of the job; deal with it.

Long answer: Like all the other seemingly pointless administrivia in this bureaucratic world we live in, the rules are there because somebody, somewhere wilfully disregarded the strictures of polite society in a cynical and selfish attempt to game the system. So rules were created and sufficient punishements attached to deter the next generation of imaginative hucksters from attempting the same dirty tricks. At times one would like the freedom to apply a measure of judgment and discretion. But alas, what appears to be a genuine clerical error, may in fact be a cleverly disguised attempt to cheat. How can we tell? If we employ the compassionate approach and simply fix the error without penalty, bad apples disposed to cut a corner now and then will take advantage of the rest of us. So we are in the unfortunate position of having to play the hardass, penalizing honest mistakes to discourage dishonest ones. The rules in this case actually give us an out. Rather than appearing to be heartless and capricious jerks, we can point to the rule book and rightfully claim the full backing of the NFHS in doing what in reality needs to be done. But even better than that, we can honestly express empathy for those penalized without feeling undue pressure to capitulate.